


Tired of these Muthafuckin Snakes on my Muthafuckin Date

by prodigalsanyo



Category: Prodigal Son (TV 2019)
Genre: F/M, Gen, No snakes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-23
Updated: 2019-12-23
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:39:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,714
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21913042
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/prodigalsanyo/pseuds/prodigalsanyo
Summary: Edrisa finding out Malcolm's connection to the Surgeon.*no actual snakes
Relationships: Malcolm Bright & Edrisa Tanaka
Comments: 13
Kudos: 87





	Tired of these Muthafuckin Snakes on my Muthafuckin Date

Edrisa adored Malcolm Bright’s energy. That one was a character. Aptly named, he brought a certain spark to normal places darkened by human deeds. Despite her feelings, Edrisa took note of victims’ stats and recorded the presence of unusual markings, injuries, or physical conditions. 

However, any time Edrisa’s eyes drifted over, Malcolm was 90% of the time bending over or squatting. Edrisa made a personal rule to herself not to look at Malcolm until she had an outline drafted for the coroner’s report.

The first time that she had heard of him had been from Dani in the coroner’s office, while waiting on Edrisa to dig into her archives for an old report that could be linked to Dani’s hot case. Dani had 36 golden hours left at the time; she didn’t want to wait on Edrisa’s email.

“Gil’s bringing in a friend of his to fill the vacancy. The guy’s a Fed. I think el Jefe’s tired of doing P.O.’s for courier service to an off-site profiler.”

“Ooh, do my ears deceive? Or are we getting another silver fox on the scene?” Edrisa asked.   
  
“What?” Edrisa said, smirking as Dani wrinkled her nose.  
  
“Edrisa, remember what I said to you after I set you up with my buddy? I heard his side of the story on what went down on your blind date and girl, you come off too damn strong,” Dani said.

“OK but at least I looked like my photo,” Edrisa said. “Your buddy saw I looked Chinese, wanted Chinese, and did not get Chinese. Because I'm Japanese.”

Dani smacked her forehead. “I’m starving. Can I grab us both take-out while you do your thing here?”

“Absolutely, but I’m feeling kind of spicy,” Edrisa said. “Make it Korean. You know which place with the legit kim chi.”

“I swear, if I didn’t know how hard it is to meet people at your job, Edrisa…” Dani shook her head as she pulled out her car keys but she came back with boxed lunches. 

After Edrisa dug into her Bulgogi wrap, she asked Dani, “So what’s the new person’s name?”

“Who?” Dani was scraping soaked, red rice. She would soon be on her way out with the medical documentation.

“Your profiler,” Edrisa said.

“It’s Gil’s boy. His name’s Bright. First name slips my mind.”

“Sounds English! Bright sounds very proper. Do you think he’s English? I would adore to have an eccentric profiler who’s all foreign.” Edrisa wriggled her shoulders.

“He was FBI, Edrisa. Sounds like we got ourselves another red blooded Amurrikan. One that the Feds didn’t want,” Dani pointed out.  
  
Instead of a fox, much to Edrisa’s delight, a very perky young man with puppy eyes had turned up in her office– and he wasn’t just a body! He had personality and vim and vigor and wow– it was awfully warm all of a sudden in the morgue. 

Edrisa wouldn’t have guessed what his background was based on how much of a sweetheart he was. He really, really didn’t have to notice her. 

Falling into his arms at the serpents’ den of Aristos Boutsikaris had solidified her unfortunate and unrequited crush on him. He had his chin against her hair when she came to. Edrisa gasped and taken in many soothing fragrances like coconut, honeysuckle, and sunflower. She half expected to open her eyes inside a spa or beauty salon. 

“Edrisa, breathe!”

She didn’t know who from what and smacked at the unidentified speaker with her flashlight clutched in her sweaty, balled up fist.

With her vision blurred, she had completely missed out on the look on his face which she imagined to be full of concern and amused relief glimmering in his soft voice as he said her name and held her as the mortification set in.

“Huh, that kinda hurt,” Malcolm said. Then he complimented her. “You’ve got a strong hand!”

“Thank you. I’ve cut a lot of men, very deeply,” Edrisa responded. Edrisa’s head was swimming from the phantom pressure of his chin absently rubbing her head and his palm on her cheek and his thumb tapping her skin.

“Woo, then you’re good to stand on your own, _Ms._ Tanaka,” Malcolm joked but he stayed close while Edrisa got her bearings. 

Dani noticed the two of them, particularly how much Edrisa full on fawned up for Malcolm. Like any other good friend, Dani invited Edrisa out for a girls’ night.

“Edrisa. Edrisa. I know you like crazy sexy pretty boys,” Dani said. She laid her hands on both of Edrisa’s shoulders and shook some sense into her. “Do NOT go in for Bright.”

“But he’s sexy pretty. You said it yourself, chika,” Edrisa whined.

“Do Not. Fall in love,” Dani warned Edrisa. “If it’s too late for you to put the brakes to that, you need to get to know him for real for reals.”

“It’s nice of you not to out him, Dani, but I do have eyes. He’s gay. He’s gotta be gay,” Edrisa was spouting off due to drink.

“No comment about what he’s into. I’m just saying, after spending some time babysitting him… Dude needs friends. You and him get along but you obviously like him. I’m asking you to get over that,” Dani said.

Edrisa saw the worry in her friend’s dark eyes. 

“What do you mean by, babysit him?” Edrisa asked.

Dani carefully explained to Edrisa just who her manic pixie dream boy was.

“Malcolm is loaded. Or at least, his family is. They’re high society rollers here. He should be the one to tell you his deals, but let’s just say that his dad’s famous. Growing up like how he did, hoo boy.” Dani earnestly pitied the man.

“Poor bastard freaked me out that night when he told me and JT who he was,” Dani concluded. “Jesus Cristo, I needed that off of me.”

“I think I understand,” Edrisa said, mystified. She was a bit bummed that Malcolm was no exception to the true-ism of too good to be true.

“You come off damned strong at times. You can’t do that with Bright.”

“Got it. I get it. The inner workings of a man’s heart will forever be shrouded in mystery. BUT if we get anymore bodies where the heart’s been excised, it’s game on!” Edrisa chirped, to show Dani that she really did understand boundaries.

“Oh child,” Dani muttered into her glass.

The next time that Edrisa saw Malcolm was on a warm fall day when sundown occurred at 5 pm. The world turned blue with pools of orange from the streetlamps. He had made an appointment with her towards the end of business hours.

“Thanks, Edrisa. I owe you one, unofficially,” Malcolm said. She was doing him a favor by letting him observe a body for a case that was, according to Gil, totally closed.

For all his dreamy-eyed looks, Malcolm could be a relentless bloodhound off of his leash.

“Not a problem. A man can look, but don’t touch,” Edrisa said, snorting at her own joke. Malcolm smiled with her despite his tiredness.

“Is there anything else I can do for you in my lab-or-ah-tory?” Edrisa asked, letting a villainous and campy Russian accent soften her matter-of-fact question.

“You’ve done more than enough, thanks. Are you leaving soon?”

“After I clean up shop and log her out. You don’t need to hang back while I put up the chairs, so to speak,” Edrisa said. It was a Friday night. Edrisa was sure that Malcolm had plans. He wore a patterned suit jacket, suitable for getting drinks after hours.

Malcolm checked the time on his rose gold watch. “It’s almost end of day. Let me walk you to your car when you’ve wrapped things up.”

“Malcolm, it’s barely a 10 minute walk to the garage,” Edrisa said.

“The man that I’m profiling… he’s targeting career women who are ethnic minorities.”  
  
A short laugh fell from Edrisa’s mouth. “You think I’m his type? On a Friday?”  
  
“When he hunts,” Malcolm said. “You’re a public servant. He’s got your name, credentials, work hours, work address. Your name’s not common, so he can hit up search engines for cached images of your social profile despite your social pages set to private.”

While Edrisa floundered for words, Malcolm continued, “And if you’re on a swiping app, he may have gotten your face, name, age, height, body type, and preferences despite not matching.”

Edrisa took a step back and wagged her finger. “Then my imaginary suitor would know that I’ve done a little tae-kwon-do and I’ve watched Kung Fu Hustle. Malcolm, I always put my keys in my hand like I’m Wolverine. No earbuds. I’m not dumb.”

“He likes ‘em smart. Let me walk you to your car,” Malcolm said.

From what Edrisa knew of the case, the killer had murdered a Filipino marketer, an Iranian financial analyst, and an Indian engineer, with two missing women who weren’t Caucasian.

“Malcolm,” Edrisa said, putting her hand on his shoulder, careful not to snag his nice threads. “You don’t quite fit the profile to play my heavy.”

At his baffled face, Edrisa sighed in her heart of hearts and readied herself to leave. On their way to the garage where she parked, Edrisa got a whiff of roasted meat.

Malcolm noticed that she slowed her pace. “Edrisa?”

“I, uh, don’t have groceries at home. I think I’ll have dinner here, wait for traffic to become less hectic, and be on my merry way home,” Edrisa said. “I relieve you of bodyguard duty.”

When he stood there blinking at her, Edrisa tried again. “At ease?”

Malcolm smiled again, his eyes crinkling. “I’m not military. And I’m still getting you to your car.”

Maybe she was stupid. “Um, okay, have dinner with me then. They’ve got a vegetarian menu if you don’t eat meat.”

Edrisa was kicking herself for not wearing her see-through navy blouse today because if she had known that the universe was setting her up for dinner, face-to-face, with Malcolm Bright, she would’ve worn that. She would’ve done a cat eye and bold, whimsical earrings.

“Edrisa,” Malcolm said. They were shown to the table and she had walked right on by him when he clearly pulled out the chair for her.

“Thank you,” Edrisa said, dragging out the second word to cover up her flustered feelings. She put her wallet off to the side. “You really don’t have to do dinner with me.”

“Why wouldn’t I? We don’t get to talk much besides on-site and check-ins,” Malcolm said.

“But we just work together. We haven’t known each other for long,” Edrisa said and it was like she kicked a puppy, oh no.

“I think you know enough about me, Edrisa,” Malcolm said. “I was canned from my last gig. I’ve played with snakes, ooh Freudian slip, not a fan. And I’m, well–”

“Slender,” Edrisa said. “And you’re always looking fly as hell.”

“Thank you,” Malcolm said, hand splayed over his breast pocket. “I’ve got to remember that line.”

Malcolm ordered soup, baked fish, and matcha tea. Edrisa ordered her cheat meal of fried and sauced meeeaaaat.

“You’re going to be up all night drinking that,” Edrisa quipped. The matcha was super green with killer caffeination levels. 

“No work tomorrow, I’ll be fine,” Malcolm said. Edrisa had her doubts. Malcolm looked like he needed a week of sleep to unpack some of them eye bags. His cup of tea clattered when his hand trembled.

“You may have a point. I’m already jittery,” Malcolm laughed off.

“So, where did you go to school?” he began with his usual gusto. In the full course of their meal, Edrisa walked him through her college years, her residency, and work life.  
  
“And your family is where?”

“Virginia,” Edrisa answered. “Specifically Georgetown, which isn’t Virginia, if you know what I mean.”

“Oh my God, we could have run into each other,” Malcolm said, holding up his hand with a small space between his thumb and forefinger.

“I don’t think so. My family’s got a fine layer of crust, just enough for me to ninja through uni admissions,” Edrisa said. “Your family, though–”

His face shuttered into a guarded expression.

Edrisa was physically unable to hinge her mouth closed. “I mean, you’re a New Yorker through and through. My state motto’s ‘Virginia is for lovers.‘”

“You and Dani talk about me,” Malcolm said. “All good, all good.”

He was leaned back in his chair, his face looking sick despite the little meal that he ordered.

“Are you alright?”

“I over ate. Wasn’t paying attention to my portions,” Malcolm said.

“Let’s head out. The cold air will feel marvelous,” Edrisa said.

Malcolm threw down a fifty and Edrisa had to move quickly to follow him out the door. She caught up to him and kept at his elbow. He had a fierce stride despite his height.

“Where are you parked?” Malcolm asked.

Edrisa told him and she had to pick up her pace more.

“Malcolm!” Edrisa called. He had that far away spaced out look. They were maybe two feet apart on the pavement, but he was going miles and miles per hour in his own head and Edrisa was stuck on stupid.

“What is it, Edrisa? Your car is that way.” He did a cursory turn and then gestured down the avenue.

Edrisa stopped in her tracks and let him figure out what to do next. She pulled the bottom of her coat down and leaned against a polished granite ledge. Being short had its advantages.

Malcolm circled back around to her, his hands in his coat pockets, frown hidden in his scarf. The line between his brows deepened as he noticed her watching him.  
  
“Wanna go for a drive?” Edrisa offered. “Then I’ll take you home.”

“UM, to YOUR place!” Edrisa clarified immediately. “A very appropriate drop off situation. If you don’t have plans.”

“I don’t,” he said.

They got into her silver car with pop music on low volume. She drove them to one of the ferry ports and swiped her card for parking. 

“Dani and I do talk, because we’ve both seen a lot of the same stuff,” Edrisa said. “She’s got me and I’ve got her back. She nabs 'em, I slab 'em.”

She kept her eyes on the blinding skyline of NYC, which helped wash out the dazzle in her eyes when she looked at Malcolm being his kind and hot self. Edrisa leaned harder into the lights.

“Did she tell you who I am? Who my father is?” Malcolm asked.

“It’s Dani, she’ll say whatever she knows you need to hear.”

“Bold of you to be alone with me,” said Malcolm. 

“Why is that?” Edrisa asked. She hated confrontation but she had been stewing on this ever since Dani gave her a vague heads up about Malcolm.

“You know what I am, don’t you?” Malcolm asked rhetorically. “It wasn’t your idea to invite me to dinner. You didn’t want me following you to your car. I thought you were being polite before you mentioned my family.”

“Malcolm, what our friend said about you is that your father, your family, is famous. That’s only what Dani clued me into,” Edrisa began. He listened intently while they stood shoulder to shoulder, leaning on to the guard rails overlooking dark river currents.

For no accountable reason, Malcolm grabbed the guard rail and laughed so hard that his head, neck and shoulders tipped back. His bicuspids were flawless. “That is RICH! My famous father. I’m buying that lady her next lunch.”

“She’s right, though? I would’ve heard of him,” Edrisa said.

“More than heard of. You’ve studied his work in your curriculum.”

“Malcolm, I’m Georgetown alum. I never studied under any Professor Bright,” Edrisa said.

“I changed my last name to Bright,” said Malcolm. “Because. Because my father is Martin Whitly, formerly Dr. Whitly. My old man had his hey day in the 90s.” Malcolm kept his tone light but his hands clenched and rattled the guard rails. He stepped back and folded his arms behind his back. 

Edrisa’s dinner churned in her tummy, the illuminating intensity of her insight slamming into her at kilos per second squared.

“That’s famous enough in my books. The Surgeon is in my literal forensic pathology texts and my ethics class discussions and medical law… “ Edrisa stopped herself. “NOT that I’m a fan!”

When she observed the shy flicker of his profoundly blue eyes, Edrisa drew closer and waved her arms.

“Do you want a hug? Cuz I want one,” Edrisa said. She was very glad she listened to Dani because Malcolm gave her a hug that made her feel safe and very much cared for. A quieter, fiercer emotion rooted into her chest, deeper than a fluttery li'l crush.

“Thank you, Edrisa. This was a nice night out. I forgot about this spot,” Malcolm said, wondering. “I may have to come and do my thinking here.”

“Let’s get you home. In another hour, the real New Yorkers will be crawling out,” Edrisa joked.

“Oh Malcolm, I messed up, oh no.” Edrisa didn’t see the edge of her photo ID when she pulled the lot ticket from her wallet. 

“My ID! I’ve been driving without a license! I’ll have to drop you off and then circle back to the restaurant. Then transit to work on Monday if I left my ID at work.” Edrisa ranted, berating herself.

“I’ll come with you. You can put the car on blinkers and I can sit in the driver’s seat and move your car if the authorities come knocking.” Malcolm reasoned.  
  
Edrisa rifled through her wallet, frowning when she found her drivers ID sitting loose in the zippered compartment of her wallet. She always had that baby slotted into the see-through pocket.

“Crisis averted! Yatta desu!” Edrisa cried. She grabbed her card by its edges, pressing it back into its designated slot.

“Cute photo,” Malcolm said. “I thought the DMV prohibited smiling.”  
  
“I just told the camera lady that my face was like that,” Edrisa said, chipper with her card secured.

Malcolm turned the music up and they had an impromptu duet as she drove him to his place. He lived in a huge place that was close to all the hubs.

“Text me when you’re home,” he told her.

“No, what if my text wakes you up?”

“I’m less likely to sleep if I don’t get your text.” Malcolm smiled wanly.

Edrisa waited for his exterior door to shut before motoring off. When she was in her apartment again, she picked up her stuffed animal plushie pig with his soulless but non-judgmental eyes, taking longer than normal to sleep.

She texted Malcolm a sleepy emoji, deactivated her dating profile, uninstalled the dating app and updated her profile photos to her Wii Me avatar with its cute pixelated black bob and glasses. She reviewed her security and privacy settings on her web profile, irritated when she noticed that FB had reverted her selection of “Friends of Friends Only” to “Everyone” who could find her.

When Edrisa got bored scrolling, she put the blue light filter on her screen, opened up an incognito tab in her mobile browser, and trawled search results for the Surgeon. She dropped her phone, flailing when a text notification caught her off guard.

Malcolm: _Thanks for the ride, friend!_  
  
Edrisa: _NP! I now know where you live tee hee. EXPECT a Christmas card!_

Malcolm: _I’ll take that as a declaration of war._

Malcolm: _A gifting war._

Edrisa: _The Christmas card will be covered in puppies with Santa hats._

Edrisa: _Good day, sir._

Edrisa chortled and settled down to dream. Edrisa opened up Spotify and searched up an Oldies playlist; then began the gentle march and longing strums of Santo and Johnny’s Sleepwalk. Edrisa rolled onto her stomach and hugged her pillow. She sat up in the bed when she scraped her finger.

Blood trailed onto her pillow as she pulled it away and found the single rose. Edrisa dropped it on to her mattress and scrabbled to lock her bedroom door. She reached under her bed for her aluminum bat which of course, was not in its spot. Her palms were sweaty on the knob of her closet door. Her bedroom closet was very thin and crammed with boxes of textbooks and notes. She silenced her phone and made an emergency call.

Edrisa was conflicted. The police were on their way. She didn’t trust her voice to call Malcolm. Whispering her address and key code to NYPD drained her of all her courage. Edrisa decided to leave it to fate and sent him a text on the off-chance that he wasn’t passed out. This wasn’t how she wanted his attention.

Edrisa: _Early Christmas present. Did your unsub leave a rose on the pillow for his other victims? Asking for me._

Malcolm wasn’t laughing when he called her. “Are you still in your apartment? Are you with police? Have you alerted the authorities?”  
  
This really wasn’t how she wanted his attention. Maybe before he had opened up to her, she would’ve been milking the situation for what it was worth but this was bad; this was serial killer bad.

“I’m locked in my room waiting for police. He might be here. The flower’s still fresh.” She was hyperventilating and black spots crowded her vision. Edrisa got up and started to tidy up her vanity table before remembering that her bedroom needed to be kept intact for investigators. She found her jewelry box lid was left up. It was her habit to close it because she didn’t like how messy her earrings looked all bunched together.

“He touched my things! Gross! Oh man! He better not have taken the silk pockets with the real jade! Okaa-san gave me these heirlooms,” Edrisa fumed.

“Edrisa, I need you to touch as little as possible until I can get to you.”

“Malcolm? Stay at home, the police will check my apartment and give me the all clear,” Edrisa said.

“I’m already in a Lyft, ETA 2 minutes. Stay in your room.”

“I only showed you my license once. You remembered the address?”

“It’s a gift,” Malcolm said. They shared a pause where they both thought about his serial killer father.

“I’ll have to make a run for my front door to let the police in.” Edrisa whispered, her heart pounding as she hid under her covers.

“You don’t, actually. I called the property owner; she’s sent one of her staff who has keys. Stay in your room, don’t open the door for anything.”

Edrisa began to get an inkling of just how loaded Malcolm’s family was; after a certain point, money was its own superpower.

She heard the commotion in her living room, the radios, the multitude of voices. A cursory check outside the blinds of her window confirmed flashing blue and red lights. Edrisa heard Malcolm’s voice speaking to her on the phone and through her door. She ripped the door open and pounced.

“Good girl, good. You were too smart to panic,” Malcolm said, soothing. She saw him examining her bedroom, his eyes roaming while his arm cradled her bare shoulders.

He made her tea while the police sat with her and wrote their report.

“Do you have somewhere to stay?” one of the officers inquired.

“I can head to Virginia and be with my family. They’re not far from DC.” Edrisa curled into her tea. “My weekend plans are shot so I might as well skip town until Sunday night.”

“How will you get there? You’ll drive?”

“Yes. I’ve made the trip a bunch of times; it’s not raining, almost no traffic, and it’ll be light by the time I’m in Maryland. My family’s going to flip.”

“A spontaneous weekend trip is a good idea. Your family will look after you. You’ll be inaccessible to the unsub. If you give me the keys to your apartment, I can get your furniture and personal belongings moved into another rental."

Malcolm was serious. "This is a matter of your safety. He cannot get a second chance."

“I’ll pay a little extra if the commute’s not murder,” Edrisa said, wincing. "You know what I mean."

“Understood,” agreed Malcolm.

“You’ll be alright driving all night? No sleeping?” Malcolm asked.

“When do you plan to sleep?” Edrisa shrewdly retorted.

When she reached for her wallet, Malcolm suddenly grabbed her wrist. “Wait, Edrisa, we can’t have you driving to Virginia. Do you 100% always keep your drivers ID in your wallet? There’s no chance that anyone lifted it and saw your address?”

“I put it down but I haven’t forgotten it or left it on a table for very long,” Edrisa sputtered. She sometimes took her meals at the bar because, well, single life.

“Do you eat dinner regularly at specific businesses?” Malcolm asked.

The police bagged the rose, her bedding, and her jewelry box. Edrisa listed the items that she couldn’t see, that she thought were missing. They bagged her wallet. Edrisa’s prospects of skipping town evaporated.

“There’s a good chance that whoever broke in may have physically handled your wallet. I’m sure the police will have it back to you.”

“My work badge is in my coat and I can use cash to buy food,” Edrisa said miserably. “Oh, but I need my ID to withdraw from my bank. This whomps.”

“Dani’s phone went right to voicemail,” Malcolm said. “You can text her in the morning, I’m sure she can make up a bed for you to crash.”

Embarrassment and anxious thoughts and a thrilling spike of guilty pleasure left Edrisa breathless as Malcolm stood and offered his elbow. “I’ll take you home for now. There’s space at my place.”

She reached for him and accepted his help, thinking that he looked nothing like his father. In the morning, she rolled over to sunny beats and the smell of vanilla and eggs and butter.

Malcolm looked like hell.

“How’d you sleep?” he asked, flipping a pancake onto a plate. His hips moved to the music playing as the pancake landed with practiced skill.

“I didn’t,” Edrisa said. She felt like hell.

"Join the club, friend. If I slept, you'd have known."

She saw the fat prescription bottles on his counter, thought of the pill counter on her dresser. That was still on her dresser, at her place.

Edrisa gratefully accepted a mug of coffee that he poured for her.

"I have to go back for my meds. I could probably duck in safely since my apartment will be corded off," said Edrisa.

"I'll come with," Malcolm said.

"Would you?!! Will you be armed?" Edrisa was too relieved.

"Good thinking. You want to choose your weapon?" Malcolm offered.

"I don't have a license to carry a concealed gun," Edrisa said.

Malcolm gestured to a point behind her. "Choose your weapon."

Edrisa's eyes landed on his mounted collection. If she wasn't in love with her friend Malcolm before, she sure as hell was now. She went into it well-armed.

\- E N D -

* * *

When law enforcement made their arrest, Malcolm still tried to talk down the man killing girls via apps. 

"I didn't get him," Malcolm said.

"I did. Guess who autopsied? Cause of death: thinking you are faster than bullets." Edrisa shook her head.

"What are the chances. Will you be alright?" Malcolm asked.

Edrisa put her hands on her hips and raised her chin. "I'm sleeping well after the fact. Does that sound alright?"

Malcolm put his arm around her shoulder and pressed his jaw into her hair. "I didn't give it my all when I talked to the killer. I understand why he wanted you and I hated him for it."

"Please don't lose sleep over him," said Edrisa. She was inspired by an idea. "Do you wanna see what I did with him?"

He didn't respond right away.

"Ah, but if that's too petty, you shouldn't say yes. That's actually messed up of me."

"You're different, Edrisa. I like that. Just because my professionalism sucked doesn't mean yours should, too."

Malcolm's hand was steady on her shoulder. "Shall we?"

"We shall." Edrisa was delighted to unveil her handiwork. Malcolm smiled and accepted what she had to share.

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: The end! This is my knee jerk reaction to Prodigal Son not SHOWING how Edrisa finds out Mal’s true identity. 
> 
> I also threw in a killer stalker based on the serial killer from another show The Fall because, um, I wanted them to both not sleep in his apartment.


End file.
